STANFORD, Calif. – Five Stanford women's volleyball players have earned all-region honors, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced today.
Seniors Audriana Fitzmorris, Madeleine Gates, Jenna Gray and Morgan Hentz have secured All-Pacific North Region honors, while junior Meghan McClure received honorable mention recognition.
Stanford has had at least four all-region players for seven consecutive seasons. Players named to the all-region teams are now in contention to become 2019 AVCA All-Americans. Senior Kathryn Plummer was ineligible for all-region honors as she did not meet the AVCA's 2/3 (66.7%) sets played requirement for the regular season.
Fitzmorris is collecting her fourth career all-region honor, while Gray and Hentz are being recognized for the third time in their careers. Gates and McClure have each earned their second nods.
Fitzmorris, an opposite from Overland Park, Kansas, is 10th in the Pac-12 with a .313 attack percentage and 11th with 1.02 blocks per set this season. Her hitting percentage is the highest in the league of any non-middle blocker. She has recorded double-digit kills in 14 matches and four or more blocks on 15 occasions. She is fifth all-time at Stanford with 602 career blocks, becoming just the fifth Cardinal to register at least 600 blocks.
Gates, a three-time all-conference honoree, led the Pac-12 in league matches with 1.43 blocks per set. On the season, her 1.38 blocks per set ranks 17th nationally. She is ninth in the Pac-12 with a .309 hitting percentage on the season. Her 146 total blocks in 2019 are sixth most in the Pac-12 and ranks 24th nationally. She was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 7, the first weekly honor in her career.
Gray, a native of Shawnee, Kansas, paces the Pac-12 and is 10th nationally with 11.46 assists per set. As a team, the Cardinal is hitting a Pac-12-best .293, ranking fifth in the nation. The three-time Pac-12 Setter of the Year leads the team with 10 double-doubles this season. She is second in program history in career assists (5,307) and her 11.17 career assists per set average would be fourth all-time. Furthermore, her 5,307 assists are the most in program history in the rally-scoring era to 25. Gray is also fourth in school history with 134 career aces.
Now a three-time Pac-12 Libero of the Year, Hentz leads the conference with 4.96 digs per set and has just 10 reception errors on the season. The Lakeside Park, Kentucky, native broke the school record for career digs in November. She is currently fourth in Pac-12 history with 2,233 career digs. Her 4.70 career digs per set average is the best in program history. She has recorded double-digit digs in all but two matches in 2019, and reached the 20-plus dig mark in 16 matches.
McClure, who picked up her second all-conference honor last week, hit .249 in Pac-12 matches, averaging 2.44 kills and 2.51 digs per set. She tied for fifth in the league with 0.29 aces per set in conference play. The outside hitter is second on the team with two double-doubles.
Stanford, which earned the No. 3 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, will play host to No. 11 seed Penn State, Cincinnati and Utah for the regional rounds, Friday and Saturday at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal will face the Utes at 8 p.m. on ESPNU following a 5 p.m. match featuring the Nittany Lions and Bearcats on ESPN3. The winners will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT for a chance to advance to the Final Four in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
